More than 500 Original Song Entries Published and Over 600,000 Votes Cast
Suggested social message: @Afteracoustics is India’s winner in “Project Aloft Star, Amplified by MTV 2016” music talent discovery competition #aloftstarmtv
India, 4 OCTOBER 2016 – Cutting-edge Aloft® brand and global youth brand MTV today revealed After Acoustics as the India winner of the third annual Asia Pacific edition of music talent discovery competition Project Aloft Star, Amplified by MTV. The competition aims to identify and support the hottest emerging music acts throughout four clusters spanning nine markets Greater China (China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), India, South Korea, and Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand). More than 600,000 online votes were cast and over 500 original song entries were published this year. These figures represent year-on-year increases of over 50% for the number of entries published and over 15% for the number of online votes cast.
Now in its third year, the competition kicked off on 1 June and culminated in the finals for the India cluster held over the weekend at Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park. After Acoustics performed alongside four other finalists – When Chai Met Toast, Rohit Vasudevan Diaries, Muhfaad and Abhishek Sharma, in front of a live audience and a panel of judges. View a video message from After Acoustics HERE.
“We’re so happy to be the India winner of Project Aloft Star, amplified by MTV. We had a wonderful night and received great hospitality. Thank you MTV and Aloft!” said After Acoustics.
Winners’ Profile – After Acoustics
Established in 2014, After Acoustics is a Pune-based folk rock/country music band. The band takes inspiration from Mumford and Sons, and they compose peppy, foot tapping country songs that make the audience sing along with gusto. What sets them apart is their multi-instrumentalist who replaces a drummer and plays the bass drum, acoustic guitar along with singing, all at the same time! In their early stage of their career, they won the Channel [V] Launchpad 2015 national competition. The win proved to be a great success and helped take their popularity even farther. The band also received the award for the best college band of the year 2015 from Channel [V] thereafter.
Their first single “MeethiChori” was released before they entered the Channel[V] contest. The song went on to win Radio City Freedom Awards 2015. Radio City 91.1FM aired the song multiple times followed by an interview of the band.
They are also ranked 17th in India by Sennheiser in a competition called Sennheiser Top-50 in 2015. Apart from this, they are the winners of MTV Colors of Youth 2016 and many national competitions. They have also judged many college band competitions such as those organized by Symbiosis College in Pune, Sri Sri University in Odisha, NIFFT in Ranchi, and K. J. Somaiya in Mumbai. The band has shared the stage with legends like Mr. Shankarmahadevan, Benny Dayal, Vishal Dadlani, Pritam, Agnee, Mr Hariharan, Indus Creed, and Paradigm Shift.
View their original competition entry HERE.
As part of the prize package, After Acoustics walked away with US$10,000 cash prize and will be profiled in MTV Seen and individual winner vignettes to be featured on the competition website projectaloftstar.mtvasia.com. In addition to this, they also get to embark on a 5 city tour with Mixtape, India’s premier artist management company.
“Aloft is a brand built for early adopters who seek the newest trends in technology, design and music,” said Vincent Ong, Senior Brand Director, Asia Pacific Brand Management, Marriott International. “Since its introduction three years ago, Project Aloft Star has seen remarkable success in identifying the next generation of talent showcasing Asia at its best through original music representing the cultural and social diversity that is so rich in this region. With the music competition growing immensely stronger into its third year, Aloft Hotels has set itself apart in the hospitality industry as the leading platform for supporting talented musicians.”
“It’s heartening to see continued strong interest and support from fans and aspiring talents for the third Project Aloft Star, Amplified by MTV competition. Congratulations to the winners! A big thank you to everyone who voted and sent in their entries. The judges had a challenging and enjoyable job evaluating the submissions and finalists’ performances. It’s been great for MTV to partner with Aloft to increase visibility of these talented musicians and grow the appreciation of the music scene in the region. We hope this competition will motivate and inspire those in the field to keep creating and performing their music,” said Paras Sharma, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Southeast Asia, Viacom International Media Networks.
The Project Aloft Star 2015 India winner Run Pussy Run was a special guest performer at the finals. The finalists were evaluated on music composition and song-writing skills, international appeal, originality and creativity, technical skill, “wow” factor, showmanship, and stage presence. The judging panel comprised the following representatives from Aloft, MTV, and music industry experts –
India
- Faiz Alam Ansari, General Manager, Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park
- Jagjit Singh, Head of Music Content, MTV India
- Jastirath (Jesse) Julka, Senior Manager, Content Acquisition, Promotion and Syndication, Artist Aloud, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment
- Naveen Deshpande, Founder, Mixtape
- Priyanka Bhattacharya, Founding Partner and Business Director, Curious Mind Entertainment
Judges with Winners of Project Aloft Star 2016 India cluster – After Acoustics
(Judges L-R: Jagjit Singh, Naveen Deshpande, Jastirath Jesse Julka, Priyanka Bhattacharya & Faiz Alam Ansari)
The finals for the Southeast Asia competition cluster will take place on 7 October at Aloft Bangkok Sukhumvit 11.
For a recap on the finalists’ submissions, please visit: projectaloftstar.mtvasia.com
To catch the India finalists’ jamming sessions, please visit: www.bandviews.com/#!artists/ProjectAloftStar2016
About Aloft Hotels
With more than 100 hotels in 16 countries around the world, Aloft brand delivers a fresh approach to the traditional staid hotel landscape. For today’s (and tomorrow’s) connected, curious and communal evolving global traveler, the Aloft brand offers a tech-forward, vibrant experience and a modern style that is different by design. For more information, please visit www.alofthotels.com/experience
About MTV
MTV is the world’s biggest youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of nearly 785 million households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. Outside of the United States, MTV is part of Viacom International Media Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all platforms. For more information about MTV in Asia, visit www.mtvasia.com.